UPDATED: If you’re looking to save a few bucks by signing up for Netflix‘s cheaper ad-supported plan, be aware: You won’t get the full catalog available to regular customers.
Netflix already announced that a certain amount of its lineup — 5% to 10% of titles, depending on country — would be unavailable on the ad tier because of licensing restrictions (which the company says it is working through). But Netflix didn’t specify which ones would not be in the mix.
Now that Netflix has bowed the plan with ads, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S. (30% less than its lowest-price no-ads tier), there’s some idea of what is not included, although the company still does not provide a complete list. TV shows and movies that are not on the Netflix Basic With Ads plan are shown in the guide with a lock icon.
Among the shows not available currently with Netflix Basic With Ads are: “Arrested Development,” “House of Cards,” “Peaky Blinders,” “New Girl,” “The Magicians,” “The Last Kingdom,” “The Sinner,” “Good Girls,” “The Good Place,” “Knight Rider,” “Queen of the South,” “Marlon,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Uncoupled” starring Neil Patrick Harris.
Movies that are unavailable in Netflix’s ad plan include “Oblivion” starring Tom Cruise, “Man on a Ledge,” “Robin Hood” starring Russell Crowe, “Steve Jobs” starring Michael Fassbender, Lee Daniels’ “The Butler,” “Skyfall,” “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “28 Days,” “Rambo,” “Darkest House,” “Made of Honor,” “The Imitation Game,” “Wanted,” “Legend,” “Blue Jasmine,” “A Monster Calls,” “Sing 2,” “Morbius,” “Road House,” “The Mist,” “A Good Old Fashioned Orgy,” “Phantom Thread,” “Contraband,” “Tully,” “Vice,” Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” and animated feature “The Bad Guys.”
A “limited number of movies and TV shows won’t be available due to licensing restrictions, and we’re going to be working on reducing that over time,” Netflix chief operating officerGreg Peters told reporters during a briefing last month.
Another limitation with the Netflix Basic With Ads plan is that subscribers do not have the ability to download titles for offline viewing. Users on the tier are limited to a single stream at a time (as with the Netflix Basic tier). According to Netflix, the ad-supported service will run 4-5 minutes of ads per hour.
Meanwhile, at launch, the Netflix ad-supported package is not supported on Apple TV devices. A company rep support for Apple’s tvOS is coming “soon.”
Netflix Basic With Ads launched in the U.S. on Nov. 3. The cheaper plan will be available in 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. It first rolled out in Canada and Mexico on Nov. 1, followed by the other countries with the exception of Spain, where it will debut Nov. 10.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that five series — “Breaking Bad,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “The Crown” and “Cobra Kai” — are not available in the Netflix ad plan. Each of those series is available in the Netflix Basic With Ads plan in the U.S.
